Thursday, November 29, 2007

This was our dinner last night. First time I made it so I was a bit worried but it tasted good so I'll be doing it again! And... it's pretty easy!

Just put olive oil, onions and garlic in a pan, let it fry for a bit. Add the fish and let it cook slowly. Once it's done remove the fish and add a sauce of 1 egg and lemon juice previously stirred. Add the fish again, salt and pepper and you're done! Serve with rice or vegetables or both!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

I was a bit worried about starting this one as I thought the previous one in this series was nothing special but now I'm really glad that I did. Because I enjoyed it very much!

Maddie is determined to uncover the untold story about the town's sordid past—her past. As a child, Maddie lost everything, and now she's back at the scene of the scandal—a local establishment that's always belonged to the Hennessys—determined to uncover the truth, and nothing is going to stand in her way. Especially not a black-haired, blue-eyed Hennessy.

Everyone in Truly knows that the Hennessy men are irresistible, and the current owner, Mick, is no exception. His late father was a skirt-chasing heartbreaker who ended up causing disaster for two families. So far, Mick's managed to keep the ladies in line, but when he claps eyes on Maddie, with her luscious curves and tempting lips, he can't resist getting tangled up with her.

But Maddie is keeping secrets, not the least of which is her true reason for being in town. And when Mick discovers what`s really going on, there is going to be a whole lot of trouble in Truly.

I really really liked Maddie. I found her a really likeable heroine and I felt that I really got to know her. She is funny, resourceful, independent and was a very interesting person. A true crime writer she decides to investigate the murder of her mother 29 years before at the hands of her lover's wife that also killed him and then commited suicide. She goes back to Truly, where the tragedy took place.

Mick Hennessy became an orphan when his mother killed his father, his father's lover and then committed suicide. Unlike his sister Meg, Mick only wants to forget about a past that brought him nothing but pain when he was growing up.

Maddie and Mick meet but she doesn't tell him her real name. They are initially attracted but things go wrong as soon as he finds out she is writing about about the crime. He wants her to give it up but she doesn't, she also doesn't tell him who she is even after they get involved. This was something I felt should have bothered me a bit but it didn't. Maybe because Maddie doesn't use Mick for information so I never really felt she was using him. Instead she came across as really in love and torn between telling him and having to face a negative reaction. Also she has to put up with everybody speaking of her mother as "the waitress" and blaiming her for getting involved with a married man. Although it's not a situation I feel should be taken lightly the fact is that the married party is the one that promised to love and to honor. It always annoys me to no end that women are always considered the guilty ones in this kind of situation!

When Maddie finally tells Mick I felt so bad for her that he reacted badly. Maddie was after all a victim just as he and his sister were and nobody seemed to remember that. Speaking of his sister she was really annoying and I'm glad she was kept in a very secondary role.

Grade: B+Not as good as some of my favourites by her but a very satisfying read!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

This book 2 in Kathy Reichs's Temperance Brennan series. Although I've already read 1 or 2 out of order I decided to joing a bookring of all her books so I can fully understand the story and enjoy them,. And I do want to enjoy them very much! Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed in this one.

March in Montreal: It is a bitterly cold night and in the grounds of an old church forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan digs carefully. She is there to exhume the remains of a nun proposed for sainthood. But the body has been moved to an unmarked grave in a far corner of the cemetery. What will Tempe discover when the frozen ground finally yields to her tools?Just hours later, Tempe is called to the scene of an horrific arson. A young family has perished, and there seems to be no witness, no motive, no explanation.From the charred remains of the arson, to a trail of sinister cult activity and a terrifying showdown during an ice storm, Tempe gathers her evidence and confronts the terror of a killer out of control. 'Another day. Another death. Death du Jour. My God, how many such days would there be?'

I think I had 2 main problems with this story. One is that there are too many cases being treated and analysed. Tempe jumps from one to another and I sometimes had to go back and see where we had left off the last time. The first case is a dead nun whose grave she is trying to find and after a while you realise that there's some problem/revelation connected with it. Well I spent the rest of the book thinking what it could be as Tempe jumps through all the cases and only in the very it is revealed. I was a bit annoyed by then.Then she keeps reaching conclusions and having revelations but we are never told what she finds out or what it means. I find that I like to be a part of the investigation, I like to know what the characters are thinking and why they do what they do. This lack of knowledge kept me frustrated! Then we don't really get to know Tempe, I think we knew her better in book 1, in this one she has no particular friends, her house doesn't seem all that cozy and revealing of her character and we don't have any information on her likes and dislikes. I was expecting something else with less action and more character development.

Grade: B-

Oh and do you see on that cover that it says - Better than Patricia Cornwell? Sorry but at least for me that's certainly not true!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Sharon Kay Penman's biography of Richard III is one of my favorite books of all time. I have hesitated in writing this review for quite a while because I'm not sure I can do it justice.

Born into an England ripped apart by the bloody War of the Roses, Richard was in awe of his older brother Edward. He stayed loyal to his brother and loyal to Anne Neville, the daughter of the enemy. It was this loyalty that was his strength, and finally his undoing.

There are many things to enjoy. Her construction of the characters, how we slowly get to know them, their motivations and fears. Her description of the political backgroung of that complicated period that was 15th century England. And how she brings Richard III to life in a way that is totally convincing and very human.

The book follows Richard from a young age when he is still in the shadow of his brother till the powerful Earl he becomes under Edward IV reign and finally his rise to throne and his death. Her writing is full of historical detail, she gives us the historical background but also those little everyday happenings that make the story and the characters come alive.

It is inevitable that what stands out more when speaking of this book is her defense of Richard regarding the death of his nephews. She makes a compelling and believable case presenting other suspects and exonerating Richard from the dark legend Shakespeare made known.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Yes I'm one of those crazy people who really likes Christmas. Not the frenzied shopping attatched to it (I worked in one of Lisbon's biggest shopping centers for 4 years and that was enough to traumatise me) but I do like giving gifts to the people I love, I like to craft my own presents, I like the family gatherings, the traditions involved, how cold it always is outside, the Christmas music you hear everywhere, getting Christmas cards in the mail, Christmas lights on the street, how everyone seems nicer and friendlier at Christmas...

I have 2 traditions of my own regarding this period. I read lots of Christmas stories in December and I always craft at least 1 Christmas ornament to add to my collection. I'm already late this year as I haven't thought what I was going to do but hopefully soon I'll have an idea.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

More than most people, you are able to find magic in life's small moments.Traditions mean a lot to you, and you tend to be quite nostalgic.You are a giving, kind person who really understands the true meaning of holidays.You inspire others to be as altruistic and caring as you are.

What makes you celebrate: Tradition and a generous spirit

At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The storyteller. You like to recount memories with everyone.

On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Give a gift to everyone you know

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

After I read The DaVinci Code, which I liked, and Angels and Demons, which I loved I put the other Dan Brown books on my wish list. I was recently sent this one as part of a bookring and decided to read it.

Rachel Sexton works for the National Reconnaissance Office as an intelligence officer. She is also the daughter of a Senator currently running for President. Her father's main offensive, and a very popular one, against the incumbent President is to attack the huge amount of NASA funding. Rachel is barely on speaking terms with her father, believing him to be totally corrupt, but is still worried she is being used by the President when he asks her to verify an amazing find by NASA, a find which will settle the arguments about NASA funding for ever. Reluctantly agreeing to view the find Rachel is whisked off to the North Pole. What she finds once she gets there takes her breath away. However, she quickly learns that nothing is what it seems, and, with two civilian scientists, is soon fleeing for her life. Stranded on an ice berg they are rescued in the nick of time by a nuclear submarine, but once back in the US their attempts to expose the plot show them that they can trust absolutely no one...

I ended up enjoying it but found that it lacked the fast pacing that the previous books had (especially Angels and Demons). Only the last third of the book equals them in the action department. Till then things happen but there's no sense of urgency wether in finding the clues or running away from the killers. The plot was nicely done, the find was surprising but I suppose one of the reasons I enjoyed the other books was because they dealt with historical people and monuments. Here it's meteorites and ocean life I don't find that as interesting. It's really me and not the book but sometimes a thriller is so nicely written that can sell me any subject, that was not the case here. Rachel and Tolland were really nice characters and as is usual in the Dan Brown books they give in to their attraction in the end.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Yep, I started blogging on November 20th 2006!! I had no idea then if this was a project I was going to keep up with or if I would be giving it up a few months later. On the contrary, it seems I became addicted and I have to post everyday!

Monday, November 19, 2007

After watching the BBC mini series based in this book and enjoying it so much I just knew I had to find a copy of the book! That's what I did a few weeks ago.

The story begins by presenting to us the character of Margaret Hale, a middle class young lady who, by her father's decision has to move with the rest of the family from Helstone in the south to Milton (it's actually a fictional Manchester)in the north of England. Margaret's father was a clergyman but due to matters of conscience decides to leave the Church of England and devote himself to giving lessons to private students. In Milton they meet Mr Thornton who becames one of Margaret's father's students. He is a rich mill owner with a rational vision of the world and it's economical matters. He is strongly attracted to Margaret from the beginning but she is full of prejudice against someone who actually woorks for a living, which is totally against her idea of how a gentleman should behave. The fact that Margaret befriends a family of mill workers makes her more aware of their difficulties and makes her dislike Thornton even more. Gaskell makes us aware not only of society's rules and behaviours but also the differences between classes and the new problems brought by the inductrial revolution. The bad working conditions and low pay the workers are forced to endure but also the problems the mill owners face with the competition of new products from America.

A strike and then a riot at the mill in which Margaret saves him from the workers leads Thornton to propose without success but after refusing him Margaret's feelings will change as she realises he is not the harsh master she imagined nor a cold man, he is a proud man battling adversity who still finds the time to show some kindness to her parents. Her own circumstances make her seem at fault in the eyes of society and Thornton is the one who helps her even believing the worst of her. At that point all seems lost for them as Thornton would never offer for her again and Margaret is bound by society's conventions not to show her feelings. After tragedy strucks she leaves Milton. However an unexpected turn of events will bring them together again…

What attracted me most in the book is how well the characters are described and how we understand them well. Margaret's character suffers a big change since the beginning, indeed she is the character that grows the most. Faced with weak parents she is the one that seems to ran the house at times, it's in her that her parents confide their problems and count on to share bad or difficult news to one another. When we understand how alone and difficult her position was it's easier to understand and eventually forgive all those prejudices and the general lack of appreciation she shows for Thornton. Her only friend is a mill worker, Bessy Higgins, and we know her feelings more from her thoughts that from her confiding in other characters. With Thornton it's different, he remains steadfast and loyal to his love for Margaret and Gaskell does a wonderful job of explaining his feelings and his character. We know him not only through his thoughts but also from his moving dialogues with his mother about his feelings towards Margaret and his dialogues with Higgins regarding his business and it's problems.

I have mentioned the mini series several times here on the blog but believe me when I say this, the book is even better!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

The first 2 I bought yesterday morning at the bookstore. I couldn't resist getting the Feehan because this is the reunion book and the Hosseini was so highly recommended that I decided to bring it along too.

Decidedly books are looking more and more like movies. Besides trailers they now have deleted scenes, at least that's what's announced on the cover of Dark Celebration. Oh and it also has quite a few chocolate cake recipes at the end. I'm thinking of trying some...

Friday, November 16, 2007

My crafty aunt came by yesterday to give me my Christmas present. She bought me a jar and a matching candle holder but decided to do a christmas center piece with the jar. Since she wanted me to enjoy it during the holiday season she decided to surprise me with it.

I was really surprised and quite happy! I love all christmas and crafty things and had already thought about what to do this year. I've been so lazy and with so many new hobbies that I still am not in the mood to actually do something. Hopefully the mood will come in December!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

And it's another interesting and funny story by Stuart, this time with a Film Noir theme. Lovers of Phillip Marlowe and The Maltese Falcon can find lots of references to both in this book.

Sally MacArthur decides to hire a private detective to find her missing sister and valuable manchurian falcon in jade. She gives a false name but Diamond quickly sees through her and although at first hesitant about helping her he soons finds himself running after the bad guys with her.

Throw in the mix a father who seems oblivious but knows everything, a mother who has more marriages in her past that she can remember and a crime family who wants the falcon to sell it to the chinese mafia and you are in for some adventurous fun.

Sally and Diamond are really nice characters even if he does do his best not to be. He is thinking to himself what's the best way to get rid of her for most of the book but at the same time he can't stop himself from liking her and try to help her. It's only in the end that he admits to his feelings. It's a light and quick read but really really good.

Grade: A

How I wish I could have the Maltese Falcon to watch again now!

And I've just realised that there is not one Anne Stuart book in the AAR Top Ten Poll. Unbelievable!!!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

I haven't visited AAR in a long time but since most of the blogs I visit daily deal with the romance genre and there's been lot's of comments about this poll I decided to check it out.

You can check the list here. Of the books mentioned I have read 62. They are all very well known books by authors already well established in the genre, people looking for buried treasures wont find any here but if you're new to romance some might be worth checking out...

I never vote for these things because I have a problem choosing just one book among others as a favorite so having to choose and grade 100 is an impossible task.In no particular order here are some of my favorites that are mentioned in the poll:Jane Austen - Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen - PersuasionDiana Gabaldon - OutlanderLisa Kleypas - Dreaming of You and Devil in WinterJennifer Crusie - Welcome to TemptationSusan Elizabeth Phillips - It Had to Be You and This Heart of MineLaura Kinsale - For My Lady's HeartLinda Howard - Opend Season and After the Night

I was sorry not to see any books by Jo Beverley, Madeline Hunter, Roberta Gellis, Elizabeth Chadwick, Liz Carlyle, other titles by Mary Balogh...

PS. Lord of Scoundrels is nº1 in the poll, although I really enjoyed reading it whenever I think of my favorites this title doesn't usually come to mind...

Monday, November 12, 2007

I would like to mention here a charity auction that takes place every month to raise money for several portuguese organisations devoted to helping children in need or elderly people. Each month they mention the organisation they are helping and people donate objects to be auctioned.

I'm not connected with the organisation in any way but I've bidded on several objects these past months and this time I decided to help by spreading the word, see here Leilão Mão a Mão

Saturday, November 10, 2007

I have been having great fun this past week watching the first 3 seasons of The Vicar of Dibley. Dawn French is just too funny! Well, they all are but she makes me laugh just by looking at her!

It's the story of a female Vicar assigned to a small conservative village. Her parishioners are at first surprised at having a woman perfoming the services but in time they get used to it and everything seems to go along smoothly. The Vicar is a lively and bubbly figure always enjoying a good joke, chocolate, rock'n'roll and looking for love without much luck. She is caring and truly interested in other people. The parishioners are not exactly your ordinary people their comments about each other and life in general are sometimes too silly and other times astonishing but always very funny which makes for some LOL moments in every episode.

The show usually starts with a meeting of the Parish Council and ends with Geraldine, the vicar, telling a joke to Alice, the verger. Although the jokes are usually rather funny Alice analises them as if they were real totally ruining them and never getting what's so funny.

The show ended with 2 christmas episodes last year and 1 comic relief special but recently there have been some news of a comeback. I certainly would love to have a few more to watch!

Friday, November 9, 2007

It seems to be all the rage lately, every author is making video trailers for their books. Although I will watch the video trailers for books of authors I love I'm not tempted to watch videos from authors I don't know so I'm wondering why there are so many popping up everywhere? Is there a new generation of readers who are attracted to videos first and the book later? Are book trailers increasing sales? I wonder...

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Rachel Gibson is a hit and miss author with me. Some books I love, others are just Okay. I think this one falls into the Okay category.What is Clare Wingate doing? One minute she's suffering in a pretty-in-pink gown she'll never wear again, and the next thing she knows it's morning . . . and she has the nastiest hangover of her life.

To make matters worse, she's wearing nothing but a spritz of Escada and lying next to Sebastian Vaughan . . . her girlhood crush turned sexy, globe-hopping journalist. Somewhere between the toast and the toss of the bouquet she'd gotten herself into a whole lot of trouble.

But Sebastian pushed all the wrong buttons-;and some of the right ones, too. Clare is in no mood for love-;not even for lust-;and wants to forget about Sebastian and his six-pack abs ASAP. But he isn't in the mood to go away, and his kiss is impossible to forget.

The characters are nice but I never felt I knew them enough to care for them and their problems. The heroine, Clare is a good girl wanting to let go of her proper image and have some fun after finding her fiance with another man. The hero Sebastian, is a reporter who can't keep his hands off her after he found her drowning her sorrows at the hotel bar. Of course soon Clare finds herself wanting more from Sebastian and he, due to past issues, is afraid of commitment.

The book is more on the light side, telling a nice story with no external interference to the plot. Come to think of it this should be the perfect romance, there are absolutely no mystery, no suspense, not many secondary characters to distract us... but to me there was something missing. It feels nice today but I know I'll completely forget it tomorrow...

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

I like Dr House! He is sarcastic, rude, funny and often wrong! Well, not completely wrong but that differential diagnosis method means they often get things wrong before they get it right! It's interesting to see how they get there though.

I like his interaction with the other doctors, almost on equal terms with Wilson, confrontational with Cuddy and mentor/student with Foreman, Cameron and Chase. With these 3 he is often agressive and sometimes downright insulting.

I really like how excentric he is, how he keeps watching soaps, how he flaunts his Vicodin habit in front of everyone and how when he is proved wrong he immediately goes in search of the right answer. How he never makes excuses for his behaviour nor confronts his team when he finds them talking about him (Foreman usually critisizing, Cameron defending and Chase not really caring...).

Yep, there's all this and a lot more to enjoy on Dr House. I've just finished season 1 and I'm really glad I have 3 more seasons ahead to watch.

Monday, November 5, 2007

This is one of my favourite books!! I say this right at first because I knew I was going to rate an A+ even before starting it. Let's see if I can now explain why.

I think it's mostly because Persuasion is the story of a young woman. Not so young by her own time parameters but still young. It's about heartbreak, about how one decision can affect you for years and years. And about second chances. When Persuasion starts Anne Elliot meets Captain Wentworth 8 years after she has broken up her engagement with him.I loved how Austen shows Anne's feelings, first anxiety at the meeting, resignation for his indifference, heartbreak because she hasn't forgotten him and her feelings have changed tremondously and finally hope when she starts seeing in him signs of a different emotion. She can't however do much about it. The codes of conduct of the time forbid her to take action in the way we would nowadays and we have to wait and see, feeling her anxiety, if Frederick Wentworth will again declare his feelings for her.

There isn't much witty dialogue like in Pride and Prejudice (which I hope to reread soon) but there is such deep emotions in Anne Elliott. I love it when books are character studies, when we really get to know a character and follow him in his thoughts and actions.

There's much more that could be said about Persuasion for me it was Anne and her feelings who made the novel.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

This is book 3 in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, I'm slowly going through this series and I really enjoyed the first 2 books. I had a bit of problem with this one and for me it didn't work as well as the other.

In the posh London street of Paragon Walk, a young woman is brutally raped and murdered. Once again the incomparable team of sleuths, Inspector Thomas Pitt and his young wife, Charlotte, peer beneath the elegant masks of the well-born suspects and reveal that something ugly lurks behind the handsome facades of Paragon Walk--something that could lead to more scandal, and more murder.

The plot was intriguing enough, I had no clue of what really had happened till the very end although I had some suspicions that the villain might be the person that is ultimately disclosed as the murderer. Everyone seemed to have some unsavory secrets and spend all their time at parties showing their hatred for the others. It was a bit too much of victorian high society. But I think that mostly this book suffered from the fact that we see too much Charlotte and not enough Pitt. I also like Pitt's take on the murders and victorian society and this time it seemed we only saw it through Charlotte and her sister's eyes. It became a bit unbalanced IMO. I like it more when there's team work.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

I just read Leya's post about Sissi, the Empress Elizabeth of Austria and I couldn't help thinking back to when I first saw those Romy Schneider movies and also fell in love with Sissi's story. That interest led me to look for books about her and in my shelves I can still find:

The movies were a guilty pleasure for a long time, recorded in VHS tapes they lasted for quite a few years. I'm feeling quite a bit of nostalgia just by looking at the DVDs and I'm wishing a new movie or mini series would be filmed. Sissi is such a tragic figure that she seems to me perfect heroine material, even if there is no happy ending...